The Rabbis for Human Rights group estimate that 43 hate crime attacks have taken place against churches, mosques and monasteries in Israel and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2009.

Father Matthias told the Associated Press that a group of mostly Jewish youth attacked the Church of the Multiplication’s outdoor prayer area, pelting worshippers with stones, throwing benches into the lake, and burning a cross in 2014.

The Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef stated, “The deviant behavior of church arsonists in the north must be condemned absolutely, and they should be punished severely”.

Other notable incidents:

A suspected mosque arson in the occupied West Bank and disparaging graffiti in Hebrew hints that a far-right Israeli group is responsible.

Mayor No’man Hamdan suggested the Hebrew slogans dubbed on the mosque included “Revenge for the Land of Zion” and “Price Tag,” a phrase synonymous with the far-right. The fire caused structural damage but no individuals were hurt in the overnight attack in the Al-Jaba’ah village near Bethlehem.

Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator to the Middle East Peace Process, condemned the arson “I am concerned by this and all other religiously-motivated attacks and provocations by any party, which may further inflame an already volatile environment.

A timely and thorough investigation, as well as bringing the perpetrators to justice, is critical. Extremists on both sides must not be allowed to turn this conflict into a religious one,” he said.

According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, the arson coincided with the anniversary of Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, where 29 Muslim worshipers were murdered by Baruch Goldstein.

Suspected “price tag” attacks do not exist in a vacuum. In early 2014, a mosque in the northern city of Umm al-Fahm had its front door set alight and the racist slogan “Arabs out” spray painted upon one of its walls. At the time, local media reported it was the fourth such incident in a month.

In October 2014, a suspected mosque arson in Aqraba, a village east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, drew strong condemnation from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin who wanted to incident “treated as terrorism”. Rivlin ordered a crackdown on “price tag” groups who are responsible for a range of attacks on Israeli Arab, Palestinian, and church property within the West Bank and Israel since 2008.

A month later, at a time of heightened tensions, a mosque and synagogue became targets for hate, according to residents and police. But an Israeli police investigation in December suggested extremists were not responsible for the fire at the mosque in the village of Mughayer, near Ramallah. Individuals targeted a synagogue with a petrol bomb in Shfaram, northern Israel (a predominantly Muslim and Christian Arab town) that caused light damage.